Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the Contra Costa Transfer Act, a bill that will assure the health and safety of the residents of Contra Costa County while also providing for the efficient delivery of water from the Bay Delta to the customers of the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD). Senator Harris is joining me in cosponsoring the bill, and I understand that Representatives Mark DeSaulnier, Jerry McNerney and Mike Thompson will be introducing a House companion measure this week as well. The CCWD is an urban water agency serving approximately 500,000 people in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area region in Northern California. CCWD operates and maintains the Contra Costa Canal System, a unit of the Central Valley Project (CVP), which is owned by the United States and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of the Interior. The Contra Costa Canal System involves 48 miles of earthen canals with about 30 miles of laterals which deliver water to cities from the canal. Although the canal has been maintained, it poses a safety and flood risk. Notwithstanding significant security fencing, 81 people have tragically been drowned since the canal was placed into service and hundreds of others have been rescued. The bill I am introducing today would transfer title to the canal system to CCWD so it can begin the process of replacing this old, earthen canal with a secure buried pipeline.…”